I have only seen Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree and The Christmas Toy. Love them both, but I voted for The Christmas Toy, as that has been a tradition in our house for years with me and my little sister. Mr. Willowby I only discovered a few years ago on Hallmark Channel.

What? No Muppet Family Christmas? C'mon now...that's a classic. I heard a rumor that the reason why it got shelved was because the ownership of the Sesame Street Muppets and the rest of the Muppet gang are now different - so that special can't be released on DVD, but still that will always be my very favorite Muppet Christmas special. So many classic lines and great situations - Mama Fozzie wanting to head out to Florida for Christmas, Miss Piggy's trek through the snow, Maureen the Mink, Fozzie and the snoooman (Nothing, what's snoo with you?), the Fraggles pebble. It's a classic.
"Watch out for the icy patch!"

Hi!
This gets pretty tough to call because we love many of these at our house.

The Christmas Toy is at the top of the list for it's good story and songs.

Mr Willowby's Christmas Tree and Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas AND The Bells of Fraggle Rock are neck and neck for story quality and holiday spirit.
We do watch them all each Christmas, multiple times, and sometimes in July!

The version I've seen of The Great Santa Claus Switch is pretty poor video quality so we just don't watch it often; if I could find a better video of it ...

I've never seen the Bear one or Refrigerator Day (it looks available to see on youtube ...)

I picked The Christmas Toy because I grew up with it and I love how it wasn't afraid to be a little dark and somber at times.

But Emmett Otter is also a classic with an incredible Paul Williams soundtrack.

The Great Santa Claus Switch is so cute and funny and it's Richard Hunt's first Muppet gig.

The Bells of Fraggle Rock is so thoughtful in a way only Fraggle Rock could be!

I'm not as familiar with Bear in the Big Blue House but I thought their Christmas special was very touching, especially the way they discussed the concept of homelessness (with Dave Goelz has the dog, hehe).

Emmet Otter gets my vote. Even edited and without Kermit, it's timeless and classic. It's also one of my top favorite Jim Henson productions. I've seen it so many times I've lost count.

I watched "A Christmas Toy" again recently, and while it's still cute, sweet and charming I don't find it as entertaining as I did when I was a kid. It's a little too kid-friendly for my grown-up tastes now. However, you can bet I'll be watching it with my nephew when he's old enough to appreciate it in the next year or two. And I will also share it with my own future kid(s).

Christmas Toy. Love it, love it, love it. So funny that it has such a similar plot to Toy Story, and it was made years earlier!

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Very true, and there are multiple similarities too, like the scene where Rugby explains to Meteora that she is a toy? Repeated twice in Toy Story 1 and 2 in dialog exchanged between Woody and Buzz. And there are design similarities between Lotso and Balthasar, and both characters walk with a cane.

"The Christmas Toy" also pre-dates "Child's Play" by 2 years, and there is no way anyone will convince me that Apple was not an influence on Chucky's design: poofy fiery red hair and similarly-colored stripey shirt, and Chucky's overalls are the same style as Apple's blue jean skirt. Apple is creepy-looking too, just like Chucky.

Incidentally, both "A Christmas Toy" AND "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas" are currently available via Netflix Instant Watch.

I watched "A Christmas Toy" again recently, and while it's still cute, sweet and charming I don't find it as entertaining as I did when I was a kid. It's a little too kid-friendly for my grown-up tastes now.

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That's funny because I was always slightly afraid of it as a kid because it was so grown up and somber at times. Don't get me wrong, I still loved it and I would definitely recommend it to kids, but it wasn't your typical kiddie special to me at all.

I guess for me, The Christmas Toy is a little slow-paced, so I'd put it 3rd on the list. My 2-year old loved it at first, but seemed to get a little bored so we didn't finish it together. I'm not giving up on her, however! I do really love it, and we'll try it again sometime.

For me, it's still hard to compete with Emmet Otter, which is absolutely one of the the most charming, heartwarming Henson projects out there. Bells of Fraggle Rock is my second favorite on the list - really tight writing, wonderful mythology, great music!

The clips I've seen of the Great Santa Claus Switch seem fun, but not quite as high as the three I mentioned. I have to say, I don't know the 3 newer shows on the list. I guess I'll give them a try sometime.

I voted for Bells of Fraggle Rock. But that was before I finally watched Emmet Otter! It's heartwarming, fun, and filled with great music. And Jerry Nelson's starring role is amazing. I wish I would've chose it.